A retired cyborg Los Angeles policeman is forced out of retirement and is assigned to apprehend his former partner whom is smuggling data to a terrorist organization that plots to assassinate government officials.

From the opening frames, Albert Pyun’s cyberpunk sci-fi actioner is a perfect mashup of William Gibson, Phillip K. Dick and all-out balls-to-the-wall action. A cult favourite back in the early 90s, this was my first viewing of NEMESIS and it’s impressive. Stylishly shot with some superb production design on set, a great cast including Tim Thomerson and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and an early role from Thomas Jane, superb stunt work and impressive gunplay (the firepower on display during the opening scene is truly intense and beautiful), Albert Pyun’s NEMESIS is certainly a cult favourite that deserves to be seen by action / sci-fi fans.

NEMESIS has received its Blu-ray debut with a 1080/24p MPEG4-AVC codec that preserves Director Albert Pyun’s 2.35:1 scope ratio, as it was originally intended. Originally shot with 35mm stock, the HD transfer (approved by Albert Pyun himself for this Blu-ray) is pretty good. Colour palette used for the film is bright and vivid throughout with no bleed or oversaturation observed. Black levels and contrast are spot-on throughout and no crushing was noticed. There is a lot of detail present throughout with facial close-ups revealing some nice refined details. There are some soft-looking shots littered throughout the film with background elements looking a bit less detailed than they should. Since there was no grain seen during my viewing, If Digital Noise Reduction was used for the film; it was very minimal and actually works to the film’s advantage by giving the film’s cybernetic characters a synthetic look. I did see what appeared to be some ghosting about 40 minutes into the film (where a double image is exposed around the characters’ facial profiles). Whether this is due to a fault with the original camera negative or Blu-ray transfer is undetermined.

NEMESIS is presented on Blu-ray with dual English and German Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 tracks, using the English Dolby Digital 5.1 track for this review. The 5.1 audio re-mix, based on the original Dolby SR (Spectral Recording), is pretty decent throughout the film. Good use of split surrounds and panning effects in the rear speakers open up the action scenes for some much appreciated impact. Some good use of the LFE channel as well which also lends some support to the film’s score. There does seem to be an error with both English audio mixes, though. Around the 64 and 71-minute mark, the dialogue does noticeably drift out of synch which can be distracting.

Because this disc is produced for the German market, I have left the menu titles as originally displayed to help the viewer navigate the special features who may not be fluent in German.

Disc One (Blu-ray)

Trailer – 12 trailers in total for the four films in the NEMESIS franchise in various SD / HD formats and languages.

TV Spots – 10 TV spots for NEMESIS.

Slideshow (03:02): A collection of stills from the film.

Making of (05:58): A brief promotional making-of video. Dubbed into German (note: an extended English version of this appears on disc three).

Artwork Galerie (02:20): A collection of posters and VHS / Laserdisc / DVD artwork from around the world.

NEMESIS in 16:9 (1 hour 35 Minutes): This is the same version of the film, but presented in its 1.78:1 theatrical aspect ratio as when first released, so there is more picture information on display at the top and bottom of the frame throughout. It contains the same 1080/24p MPEG4-AVC transfer with the same audio mixes.

Vorwort – Albert Pyun (02:19) : This is the same introduction to the film from Albert Pyun when the disc loads up.

Vorwort – Oliver Gruner (03:13) : This is the same introduction to the film from Oliver Gruner when the disc loads up.

Nachwort – Albert Pyun (0:58) : This is the same Outro to the film after it concludes and before it reverts back to the main menu from Albert Pyun.

Nemesis v2.0 (Director’s Cut) in English / Deutsch (1 hour 27 minutes): This version of the film is the recently put together ‘Director’s Cut’ of NEMESIS. It is from Albert’s personal screener copy that toured the festival circuit that features new CGI effects and altered scenes. It is of workprint quality with frame rate problems and Dolby Digital 2.0 audio. Not the perfect viewing experience, but an interesting addition to the package. Digging a bit further into this particular cut of the film, it appears that there was a better quality fullscreen version released on VHS. Why this was not included as well is a mystery.

Japanese Fassung (1 hour 35 minutes): The rare Japanese cut of the film. Sourced from VHS with burnt-in Japanese subtitles. This version of the film radically changes the finale of the film and includes extended scenes and more violence. A true gem of a special feature and its addition here is worth the price of the package alone. Presented in 4:3 fullscreen with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

Fortsetzen – This is the ‘resume viewing’ button.

Disc Three (DVD)

Alte Deutscher Fassung (1 hour 31 minutes): This is the German theatrical cut of the film. Presented in Letterboxed widescreen with German Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

Making of – Original (07:13): A brief promotional making-of video.

Making of – Oliver Gruner (02:18): A brief promotional video that focuses on the star of the film.

Making of – Stunts and Effekte (02:43): A brief promotional video that focuses on the stunts and practical effects aspect of the film.

Making of – Visuelle Effekte (01:41): A brief promo that focuses on the special effects aspect of the film.

Die Quadrolgie (07:26): German unboxing video of the DVD boxset.

Killcount (02:26): A rather fun video which tallies up the amount of on-screen kills during the film.

Review UK (03:39): A video blog review of the film.

Disc Four (CD)

Disc four is a Compact Disc which features Michel Rubini’s complete score for NEMESIS.

Seventy-three years after Alex failed, humans have lost the Cyborg Wars and they are now slaves to the Cyborg masters. Rebel scientists have developed a new DNA strain, which could signal the end of the Cyborgs, and have injected it into a pregnant volunteer. When the Cyborgs learn of the woman and her baby, both are listed for termination. To escape, she steals a Cyborg ship and is transported back in time to East Africa in 1980, where the mother is killed, but the baby is saved. It takes 20 years, but a Cyborg bounty hunter named Nebula eventually locates the young woman, named Alex, and travels back in time to terminate her.

Quite a departure from what was originally set up in the original NEMESIS, Director Albert Pyun dials back the style and pyrotechnics for a more low key but fairly decent entry in the NEMESIS franchise. Set against the backdrop of the African wilderness during the 1980s, we are introduced to Alex (portrayed by champion bodybuilder Sue Price, who’s impressive physique is perfect for this type of role) who would become the focus of the rest of the NEMESIS franchise. Apart from a few brief scenes and some setup, there isn’t really much connection to the events of the previous film which was initially a disappointment. The film’s first act did seem a bit slow, but if you stay with it, once Nebula (the time travelling bounty hunter) is introduced, NEMESIS 2 finds its footing and becomes a decent chase movie with some superb stunt work and action sequences towards the final act. It may not have the same tone or style of the first NEMESIS film, but ends up being a decent low-budget sci-fi actioner.

NEMESIS 2: NEBULA arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080/24p MPEG4-AVC codec that preserves Director Albert Pyun’s 2.35:1 scope ratio, as it was originally intended. Originally shot on 35mm, the HD transfer (approved by Albert Pyun himself for this Blu-ray) is good but had mixed results. My first observations during the viewing was that this transfer contains some refined detail to background and foreground elements. The cinematography for NEMESIS 2 is quite lush with some great looking background landscapes. The colour palette used seems to be a bit muted, though, as there was little to no colour-pop seen. Even the pyrotechnics seemed a bit off with the flames looking a bit dull. Any scene with Nebula’s predator style camouflage did appear to have a slightly lower resolution due to the SFX plate used in post-production. It’s not distracting but noticeable and is no fault of the transfer itself. Apart from a few flecks of print damage during the first act and some brief shots of filtering towards the end, it’s a fairly decent video transfer for a direct-to-video low-budget flick.

NEMESIS 2: NEBULA is presented on Blu-ray with dual English and German Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 tracks. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 track was used for this review. I found the dialogue mix a tad too low for my personal preference. The front and rear surround channels were appearing to be overpowering in some scenes where it was difficult to make out what was being said. It’s not like this throughout the movie thankfully, but certainly noticeable in a few scenes. Despite a fairly decent ambience throughout the movie, I did hear some audio reverb during some scenes. A faint echo which didn’t appear to be part of the mix. Switching over to the Dolby Digital 2.0 track during select, it was still present, but not as loud. The Dolby Digital 2.0 track (the original stereo mix presumably) did appear a bit more balanced than the 5.1 remix.

Trailer – 12 trailers in total for the four films in the NEMESIS franchise in various SD / HD formats and languages.

Artwork Galerie (01:33) – A collection of various posters and VHS / LD / DVD covers from around the world.

NEMESIS 2 in 16:9 (1 hour 24 minutes) – This is the same version of the film, but presented in its 1.78:1 original aspect ratio as when first released, so there is more picture information on display throughout. It contains the same 1080/24p MPEG4-AVC transfer with the same audio mixes.

Alte Deutsche Fassung (1 hour 21 minutes) – This is the German theatrical cut of the film. Presented in 4:3 Fullscreen with German Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

In the wasteland of despair, the path to redemption is not clear. But Alex – a mutant created with super human DNA – carries the seed of hope for all mankind. In a struggle for domination that will never end, the cyborg enemy – designed by humans as weapons without a soul – will not stop until this divine spark of humanity is eliminated. The cyborgs are back, here and now, stronger than ever. The terror has returned and we must face what they bring.

Albert Pyun’s third installment in the NEMESIS franchise follows hot off the heels of the previous entry and continues the story of Alex who we find wandering the desert with no memory or recollection of what’s happened. It also attempts to tie in with the original NEMESIS with the casting of Tim Thomerson as Farnsworth 2. After what seems to be a very slow and uneventful first act, literally made up of Alex trying to recollect her memory via excessive flashbacks to the previous film, NEMESIS 3 finally gets underway by backtracking 22 hours earlier and revealing to the viewer what had transpired. Unfortunately, instead of some superb action sequences, stunt work and cool robot effects, we are given some poorly executed action scenes with little to no excitement, no plot progression and very badly done CGI. A real disappointment after the two previous and entertaining installments.

NEMESIS 3: TIME LAPSE has received its Blu-ray debut with a 1080/24p MPEG4-AVC codec that preserves Director’s Albert Pyun’s 2.35:1 scope ratio. A bit of a mixed bag in all honesty, but not due to the Blu-ray transfer itself. The footage sourced from the 35mm print is pretty good. Colours are not muted so much as I observed with the previous film. Detail is good with close-ups revealing some nice textures. It can look a tad soft in some shots, though, due to some filtering. But whenever there is a shot involving CGI, the picture then switches to what looks VHS quality. It’s quite distracting, but again, this is due to the source of the print and not the Blu-ray transfer itself.

NEMESIS 3: TIME LAPSE is presented on Blu-ray with dual English and German Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 tracks. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 track was used for this review. The 5.1 remix is pretty good throughout. Not exactly what I would call an exciting mix, but the ambiance blended with the score and occasional use of rear direction effects creates a good atmosphere.

Trailers – 12 trailers in total for the four films in the NEMESIS franchise in various SD / HD formats and languages.

Artwork Galerie (01:22) – A collection of various posters and VHS / LD / DVD covers from around the world.

NEMESIS 3 in 16:9 (1 hour 30 minutes) – This is the same version of the film, but presented in its 1.78:1 original aspect ratio as when first released, so there is more picture information on display throughout. It contains the same 1080/24p MPEG4-AVC transfer with the same audio mixes.

Alte Deutsche Fassung (1 hour 30 minutes) – This is the German theatrical cut of the film. Presented in 4:3 Fullscreen with German Dolby Digital 2.0 audio,

Six years following the cyborg war, a reluctant truce was reached. Humans and cyborgs formed a fragile bond, co-existing in a dark bleak universe. Alex (Sue Price), a beautiful woman armed with an incredibly muscled physique and DNA enhanced fighting skills, is an assassin in this new world order. After a long and arduous career in killing, she asks her boss, Bernardo (Andrew Divoff), for one last assignment. He fears for her safety, but reluctantly agrees. Killing her target, she becomes aware of a mysterious woman in black. Could this be the angel of death?

Albert Pyun changes the direction of the NEMESIS franchise with the fourth and final entry, CRY OF ANGELS. Pulling back the pyrotechnics and stunts and changing the location and tone completely, he creates a Cyberpunk thriller that tries to recover the tone of the first film. By all accounts he does succeed (it couldn’t get much worse after the disappointing NEMESIS 3: TIME LAPSE) and CRY OF ANGELS does appear to be a more low-key continuation of the first film. The problem is that there isn’t really much of a story to tell, though. Despite the relatively short running time (79 minutes including extended end credits), some scenes tend to linger on quite a bit. Sue Price still remains the centerpiece of the film, though, and she carries the franchise quite well (especially in this installment as she spends most of the film walking around butt naked). It’s won’t satisfy fans of the first film, but Albert Pyun does deliver something different and original.

NEMESIS 4: CRY OF ANGELS has received its Blu-ray debut with a 1080/24p MPEG4-AVC codec that preserves Director Albert Pyun’s 2.35:1 scope ratio. The video transfer on this instalment is pretty good. There isn’t much SFX on display which degrades the picture quality (a common occurrence during the films), so it’s pretty consistent throughout. The desolate European city background does contain some nice refined detail in the architecture. Colours and contrast are balanced throughout. It’s not exactly demo material, but it’s good enough.

NEMESIS 4: CRY OF ANGELS is presented on Blu-ray with dual English and German Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 tracks. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 track was used for this review. It’s certainly not the most active mix. Sound effects and dialogue are limited, but nicely presented in the front sound stage. The rear speakers do open up some of the ambience effects and music, but it’s somewhat limited.

Trailers – 12 trailers in total for the four films in the NEMESIS franchise in various SD / HD formats and languages.

Artwork Galerie (01:02) – A collection of various posters and VHS / LD / DVD covers from around the world.

NEMESIS 4 in 16:9 (1 hour 19 minutes) – This is the same version of the film, but presented in its 1.78:1 original aspect ratio as when first released, so there is more picture information on display throughout. It contains the same 1080/24p MPEG4-AVC transfer with the same audio mixes.

Alte Deutsche Fassung (1 hour 16 minutes) – This is the German theatrical cut of the film. Presented in 4:3 Fullscreen with German Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

This was my first exposure to the NEMESIS franchise and I have to admit, apart from the misstep that was Part 3, I pretty much enjoyed watching all of these. NEMESIS was that one video in my local video rental store that caught my eye, but I never got around to watching and in hindsight, it probably would have been a regular watch if I had bothered to rent or purchase it. Whilst the first installment has 90s action fest plastered all over it, Albert Pyun’s creative control over the direction of where the franchise went was interesting to follow as well as you have to give credit to Albert for doing something original with NEBULA and CRY OF ANGELS (I’ve said my piece about TIME LAPSE). Package wise, this is a dream of a collection; NEMESIS being the focus of the set with three discs stacked with bonus features and the soundtrack. The extras on the rest of the films do get a bit repetitive, but at least there is a substantial amount to explore after you’ve viewed the films. Quality wise, there are a few issues with the set (as explained above) which Platinum Cult Collection did address to fans before the set came out, but sadly cannot rectify which prevents this getting a higher score. For action sci-fi fans, though, this set is worth getting.

About the author

UK Reviewer - Rob is a nostalgic film fan and always adores sci-fi, horror and action. He loves the technical side of film making and collecting his favourite films across all type of home media formats. He inspires to be saviour of the universe

SirWreckm

I’d never even heard of these before. Will have to check out.

Kenneth Livitski

Awesome review, Rob! I’m definitely intrigued by these now. When reading your descriptions for each film, I got a real TREMORS vibe. Awesome first flick, good second, crappy third and then decent fourth. Hopefully someone releases these in Region A format one day. I noticed there’s a box set coming out in the UK, but unfortunately that’s Region B, too.

The first one is pretty good, but the sequels are pretty cheap & cheesy. This is honestly better treatment than these little cult films deserve… and I love it. So glad this is region free. Just ordered it.

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